Patricia Meehan
Real Name: Patricia Bernadette Meehan Nicknames: Patty, Pat Location: Circle, Montana Date: April 20, 1989 Bio Occupation: Ranch Hand Date Of Birth: November 1, 1951 Height: 5'3" Weight: 117 lbs. Marital Status: Unrevealed Characteristics: Green eyes, strawberry blonde hair, freckles with fair complexion and mild Eastern accent with a soft, low voice as if almost a whisper. Case Details: At around 8:15PM on April 20, 1989, on Highway 200 near Circle, Montana, Peggy Bueller and her parents were driving to Great Falls, Montana, to visit her sister. Behind them was Carol Heitz, an off-duty police dispatcher. Out of nowhere, a car driving the opposite direction came onto their side of the road. Peggy swerved out of the way, barely missing a head-on collision with it. Carol pulled off to the side of the road, but it still collided with her. Carol exited her car dazed but not seriously injured. The wrong-way driver also exited her vehicle. She looked at Carol for several seconds, but said nothing. She then walked away. Peggy and her parents went to the accident scene to make sure everyone was alright. Peggy then noticed the woman; she was standing on the other side of a fence a few yards away. According to Peggy, she was looking at the scene as if she was a bystander and not involved. She then walked into the field and vanished. Within half an hour, police traced the car to its owner, thirty-eight-year-old Patricia Meehan; she was the wrong-way driver. Immediately, police began to search for her; however, they had no idea if she was injured or if she was purposefully hiding from them. Tennis shoe tracks were found in the field near the accident scene that went on for several miles; by 3AM, they disappeared and the search was suspended until the next morning. It continued for five days, but no trace of her was found. Two theories emerged as to how she eluded her trackers. The first theory was that she had stowed away on a hay truck parked about a half mile from the accident scene. The other theory is that she simply hitchhiked out of the area. Since her disappearance, Patricia has been spotted multiple times throughout the United States. However, she has made no attempt to contact her family or friends. At first, it seemed as though she vanished to avoid prosecution for leaving the scene of an accident. However, eyewitness reports of her increasingly strange behavior suggests to police and psychiatrists that she may be suffering from a rare and dangerous form of amnesia. Patricia was originally from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania but had moved to Oklahoma to attend college and prepare for a career in day care. She worked in that field until 1985 when she decided to move to Montana to work on a ranch. Before her disappearance, her family and friends had noticed that she had become depressed and withdrawn. Her mother believed that she was looking back at her life and looking at what she accomplished. She believes that Patricia missed having children and that this made her depressed. Psychiatrists believe that she sustained a head injury from the accident and that it combining with her previous problems may have caused her amnesia. Since the accident, Patricia has been spotted at least one-hundred times between Montana and Seattle, mostly at truck stops. However, she has apparently been able to hitchhike out of the areas before her family could find her. Her family became very concerned for her safety and sanity, especially after learning that she had been seen crying on several occasions. One of the confirmed sightings of Patricia occurred in May 1989, in Bozeman, Montana, which is just a few miles from her home. She went to a restaurant and behaved strangely around both the hostess and the waitress that served her. She told the hostess that she wanted to be sat and served quickly because she had to go shopping. The waitress noticed that she was acting disoriented and spacey, often looking off into space. She also heard her talking to herself. Despite claiming that she was in a hurry, she sat at the table for over an hour. She eventually left after the waitress asked if she was okay. Unfortunately, based on the sightings, it does not appear that Patricia's condition is improving. If she is not treated soon, then the damage to her mental state could be severe and irreversible. Patricia remains missing. Suspects: None known; at the time, foul play was not suspected in the case. Extra Notes: This case first aired on the November 1, 1989 episode. Results: Unsolved. After the broadcast, viewers reported seeing a woman matching Patricia's description in Walla Walla, Washington. Other residents later reported seeing a similar woman. However, no trace of her was found there. In September of 1990, a woman calling herself "Morning Star" was arrested for littering in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. One of the officers believed that she was Patricia; however, when her parents spoke with the woman, they were certain that she was not their daughter. There is some speculation that the woman may have been mistaken for Patricia in previous sightings. In 2011, police released a composite of a woman found in British Columbia, who "Websleuth" bloggers recognized her as possibly being Patricia. One of the bloggers sent in the tip to the police, but it was later revealed that this was not her. Sadly, Patricia's parents have since passed away. Links: * Patricia Meehan on Unsolved.com * Patricia Meehan on Wikipedia * Patricia Meehan at the Charley Project * Patricia Meehan on the Doe Network * Family seeks woman who left crash site * Relatives join search for Bozeman woman * Relatives search for accident victim * Parents searching for missing daughter * Parents search for daughter, possible amnesia victim * Couple Searches for Daughter, Possible Victim of Amnesia * Pennsylvania couple hunt daughter in Spokane * Missing woman spotted, but cops too slow * 'Unsolved Mysteries' plans TV segment on missing woman * Bozeman woman on 'Unsolved Mysteries' * Missing woman may be roaming Walla Walla * Police track down lots of leads on missing woman, come up empty * Is She Or Isn't She Patricia Meehan? * Missing woman, transient: Are they one in the same? * Phone conversation convinces father mystery woman isn't his daughter * Father says mystery woman isn't daughter * Websleuths Discussion of Patricia Meehan * Patricia's mother Dolly's Obituary ---- Category:Montana Category:1989 Category:Disappearances Category:Lost Identity Cases Category:Amnesia Category:Road-Related Cases Category:Unsolved